Page 28 of The Queen’s Shadow

Goddess help me. She was being impossible.

“What can wi do, to appease yuh, Sorcerer General?” I finally asked. “Name it, and if it is within mi powah, I will do it for yuh.”

She eyed me consideringly. Even through the screen, I could tell how tense she was. She was on edge. Something had happened that she wasn’t sharing with me. Finally, she spoke.

“You are not the first member of The Board to ask me for a congregation today, Mr. Brown.” She said, and my blood froze. “Trenton Blackwood has also expressed interest in addressing The Board to discuss the state of things beyond The Veil. He says he would like to act as a proxy for Kieran Knightshade.”

It took everything in me to keep my face composed. Trenton Blackwood was the representative for America. Until I had been named the representative for Jamaica, he had been the youngest wizard to ever be officially given a seat on The Board.

Trenton was… controversial. There were rumors that he had allegedly killed his own parents, and he had a record of unfounded accusations a mile long that had followed him around for his entire career. Some of the more disturbing rumors told stories of horrible things he did to classmates when he was a boy and his powers had begun to manifest.

Around the age of twenty, he seemed to have cleaned up his act, and served as a sort of ‘enforcer’ for The Board’s agenda. In instances where magick folk who turned to walk the wrong path needed to be eliminated, Trenton would step in. He was invaluable in this sense, but his ruthless and unforgiving methods did nothing to squash the rumors that still seemed to circle and spread around his past.

I had met him a handful of times before, and every time, he had left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t trust him, and hearing that he had aligned himself with Kieran did not surprise me.

“Then all di more reason to grant us our request, so dat wi might speak our truth.” I said with conviction. Sofia pursed her lips.

“These are dangerous times, and I will not have our people divided.” She responded finally. “I am officially relieving you of your duties as ward to The Origin’s Daughter. I will grant you your request for an audience with The Board, on the condition that you return to La Cima della Giustizia and fulfill your duties full time here.”

This time I could not keep my face composed; my jaw dropped.

“Yuh can’t -” I began, but she cut me off. “That goes for Meredith Abbey as well. “There are dark times ahead of us, and we need every able-bodied healer we have, ready and available to serve. I want our people united.”

A rush of anger flooded through me, this was not the intended result of this call. I couldn’t leave Raven, not now. She was hanging on by a thread.

“Sorcerer General, with all-due o-respect…” I started, but she interrupted me again.

“These are your orders. You have forty-eight hours to appear at the sacred doors of La Cima della Giustizia with the Lens. No less, or I will be forced to assume that you have resigned your position.”

Then, the screen went blank.

Raven

The scream of my burning quasar tore through the chest of yet another Luchorpán. I rapid fired at it from the air and made a face as its huge lidless eyes bulged out of its grotesque head. Its torso blew apart beneath the laser-like blast of energy, and once I was satisfied I had killed it, I continued onwards through the dark tunnel.

‘Good, Raven,’ Amon purred into my mind. It felt as if he were rubbing raw velour through the insides of my body. I shuddered with pleasure.

Fuck, I wished I could touch him.

I had switched to flying when I realized just how long the tunnel was… and just how infested with Luchorpán it seemed to be.

I was now able to recognize their magick and eliminate them before they could effectively ensnare me in another illusion. Once I had this down, it was easy to spot them and take them out, thanks to Frira’s dragonflies. They would swarm each Luchorpán we came across, illuminating their hiding spots as we crossed paths.

“How long is this fucking tunnel,” I wondered out loud, and I felt Amon’s metaphysical shrug through the trace.

‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ He said, and I felt his amusement curl in my mind. “If you’re in such a rush, why don’t you show me how fast you can go?” The way he said it made me squirm.

“Stop that.” I snipped, though I was biting back a smile.

‘Stop what?’ He asked, rubbing his magick through my body again, causing me to gasp.

‘Mmm.’ He purred, ‘I love it when you make that sound.’ He curled his power deeper into me, and I felt it pool low in my abdomen, gently tracing lines of fire through my core. ‘Should I see if I can make you do it again?’

For a moment I wanted to lean into it, the illusion of his closeness felt so good, and I almost felt as if he were really here, touching me. Tears pricked at my eyes and I shook my head.

“Stop teasing me. It’s not fair. You’re not actually here.” I suddenly wasn’t amused anymore. Sadness and desperation welled in my chest again. “I need you back.” I whispered, and I felt him sober slightly in my mind as well.

‘We will be back together soon, Raven.’ He promised.